Container



Patented Apr. 6, 1943 CONTAINER Russell C. Taylor, Greenwich, Conn., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 30, 1939, Serial No. 311,917

1 Claim.

erance without the cutting means or any of the cut parts coming in contact with the contents of the container and for these reasons the invention is especially adapted for embodiment in sanitary food containers.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such a novel container `body and end closure construction which will permit ready cutting Y and provide an accurate and convenient track for a .cutting tool such as a rotary container opener.

Still another object of the invention is the 4provision of such a novel body and end closure lconstruction having its various parts cooperatively arranged and its cutting or severing line so located that the cutting tool is solidly supported and accurately guided during the cutting operation.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a novel body and end closure co-nstruc- I;

tion which can be formed economically with only a slight change in existing body and end forming devices and which does not interfere with the attainment of a tight and (if desired) a hermetic joint between container body and end closure.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a container embodying the invention Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the upper part of the container and end closure construction and also shows in perspective the cutting and feeding parts of a rotary cutter in position for the cutting operation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the container and end reclosure in separated, superpcsed position, as they appear separated after the cutting operation is completed.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention as i1- lustrated and exemplified in the several views,

comprises a cylindrical container of sheet metal such as tin pla-te or other suitable material, having a body II, a bottom end closure secured to the body II, as by the usual double seam I2 and a top end closure I3 having a peripheral flange portion interlocked with and secured to the body Il preferably also by means of the usual double seam I4. When the container is constructed of sheet metal such as tin plate, the bottom and top double seams I2 and I4 comprise the usual interlocked body and end closure anges forming the usual ve thicknesses or layers of body and cover material.

The body I I for its major portion has a straight cylindrical wall I5 but near its top and below the top double seam I4, the material of the body wall is bent outwardly at a substantially right angle to the straight body wall l5 and then upwardly substantially parallel with the body wall i5 to ior-m `a horizontal ledge or shoulder I6 and an outwardly spaced or offset upper vertical wall Il constituting a minor portion of the body wall and which terminates at its outer end in an out wardly and downwardly turned ange 'interlocked with the cover nange to constitute the double seam I4.

The top cover or end closure I3 inwardly of its marginal flange which is interlocked with the body flange to form the double seam I4, comprises a vertical or countersunk wall part I8 which runs parallel with and tightly hugs the body wall part I'I. The cover wall portion I8 merges into a horizontal ledge or shoulder I9, which extends parallel to and tightly engages the body ledge I6 and then merges into another inwardly oiset vertical cover wall portion 2I which extends parallel t0 and tightly engages the body Wall I5 and then merges into a hori zontal cover wall or countersunk panel 22, which completes the cover I3. The cover I3 thus has a stepped formation of two different diameters.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the body and cover parts I'I and I8 and I6 and I9 thus form a unitary ledge or shoulder which provides a convenient cutter track and support and denes lby the corner C formed by the body parts I6 and I7 and the cover parts I 8 and I9 a line of severance which may be readily followed and cut by a rotary cutter now to be described.

In order to open the Container above described a rotary cutter, of which there are several types available, is used or may be readily adapted for use. The opener illustrated and exemplified in Fig. 2 essentially comprises a rotary cutter roller 23, of hardened or tempered steel, which is lpreferably tapered and has a sharp annular cutting edge 24, and is operatively supported on a roller shaft 25, which is journalled in parts and driven by parts not here shown but which are well known in the art. A propelling or feeding roller 26, having an inner small diameter roller portion 21 which engages the body wall I5, an intermediate larger diameter roller portion 28, whichl engages the lower face of the double seam M and an outer still larger diameter roller portion 29 which engages the outer face of the double seam I4, is mounted on a shaft 3| and is adapted to frictionally engage the container and seam parts and cooperates with the cutter roll 23, assisted by Well known connecting parts (not sho-wn) to propel the cutter roll 23 and itself around the whole periphery of the container.

When the cutter roll 23 is in the cutting position illustrated in Fig. 2 and the cutter is oper,-

ated, the cutting edge 24 ,coincides with the corner C and severs the material of the cover and the body along a line of severance defined by said corner C, and because of the usual pressure eX- erted between the cutter roll 23 and the feed roll 2B, a clean cut is effected and the material of the cover ledge I9 Aand the body ledge i6 is slightly Ibent downwardly as shown in Fig. 3 to provide reclosure flanges Ila and Ia on the cover and body respectively. The body I I and cover I3 may thus be reassembled for reclosure purposes, the cover Iwall portion 2| snugly tting within the body wall portion I5 and the flanges Ida and Ia overlying each other.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a novel body and cover construction especially adapted for sanitary sheet metal food containers, but also applicable to other containers, `which may be effectively cut along a clean line of Severance without bringing the cutter parts or the cut container parts in Contact with the container contents and which has all the advantages heretofore mentioned and other advantages which have not been specifically mentioned.

It will also be appreciated that when the end seams are required to be liquid or air tight it is desirable to intenpose a packing or sealing compound material between the interlocked body and end closure flanges in a suitable and well known manner.

Also it is understood that the body and cover construction above described may be used at either bottom or top end of the container or at both ends. Also that the invention is not necessarily limited to the use of sheet metal in the construction of the container but that it may be adapted to other materials.

It is thought that the invention and many'o its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departingfrom the spirit.A and scope of the invention or sacricing all of its material advantakes, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

A sealed sanitary reclosure container adapted to be opened by a cutting tool without contacting the :container contents, comprising a container body having a wall including an upper laterally a seat for the exterior portion of a `cutting tool,

said oifset body wall portion being of greater diameter than and connected to the major [portion of said wall by a substantially horizontal ledge portion, the major portion of said body wall being of substantially uniform diameter and constituting Iat its upper end a friction seat for an end closure member, and an end closure member secured to said body flange in a seamed joint dis-' posed a substantial distance above said ledge portion so as to cooperate with said body wall seat in supporting said exterior portion of said cutting tool exteriorly of the can body, said 'closure member having an outer substantially vertical wall portion disposed in close engagement with the outwardly oiTset wall portion of said body and an integral inwardly oifset substantially vertical wall portion disposed in close rictional engagement with the inner surface of said body wall closure seat and connected to the outer wall portion of the closure member by a substantially horizontal ledge disposed in close engagement with the said ledge portion of the container body, thereby providing a cutter element supporting ledge having la line of severance spaced radially outwardly from the major portion of the container body wall along which the cutter element of said tool may move and cut through said end closure and said body wall beneath said joint without said cutter or cut parts of the container coming in contact with the container contents, whereby to adapt said body ledge portion to support the severed cover ledge with the inwardly offset wall portion of the latter disposed insnug frictional engagement with the inner surface of the body Wall to constitute a reclosure assembly.

RUSSELL C. TAYLOR. 

